"RESOLUTION ON MARIJUANA TABLED"

Medical marijuana missed a chance Tuesday night for endorsement by the
Pulaski County Quorum Court.

The Quorum Court tabled the resolution supporting medical marijuana
until after the July deadline for a petition to put the Arkansas
Medical Marijuana Act, which allows physicians to prescribe marijuana
to patients with certain debilitating illnesses, on the November ballot.

The initiative has gathered between 6000 and 7000 signatures. It needs
nearly 60,000 by July to make it onto the November ballot.

Delbert Lewis of the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas
said his group was committed to reform beyond this year's election.

Eight justices of the peace voted to table the measure until the first
meeting after the deadline. Six voted against postponing the vote.

Justice of the Peace Wilandra Dean, who sponsored the resolution after
being approached by Lewis, a close friend suffering chronic pain from
post-polio syndrome. She left the room after the vote.

If the measure had passed, Pulaski County Quorum Court would have
become the first government body in the state to endorse the medical
marijuana initiative.